Ellan Vannin (poem)

"Ellan Vannin" (the Manx-language name of the Isle of Man) is the title of a poem and song, often referred to as "the alternative Manx national anthem", the words of which were written by Eliza Craven Green in 1854 and later set to music by someone called either J. Townsend or F. H. Townend (sources vary).

Poem

:"When the summer day is over":"And the busy cares have flown,":"Then I sit beneath the starlight":"With a weary heart. alone,":"And there rises like a vision,":"Sparkling bright in nature's glee,":"My own dear _gv. Ellan Vannin":"With its green hills by the sea."

:"Then I hear the wavelets murmur":"As they kiss the fairy shore,":"Then beneath the em'rald waters":"Sings the mermaid as of yore,":"And the fair Isle shines with beauty":"As in youth it dawned on me,":"My own dear _gv. Ellan Vannin":"With its green hills by the sea."

:"Then mem'ries sweet and tender":"Come like music's plaintive flow,":"Of someone in _gv. Ellan Vannin":"That lov'd me long ago,":"So I give with tears and blessings,":"And my fondest thoughts to thee,":"My own dear _gv. Ellan Vannin":"With its green hills by the sea."

The Bee Gees Version

The Bee Gees recorded a version for Isle of Man charities. They also included the song in their world-tour as a show of pride in the place of their birth.

:"When the summer day is over,":"Its busy cares have flown,":"I will sit beneath the starlight,":"With a weary heart alone."

:"Then it rises like a vision":"Sparkling bright it shines for me":"My own dear _gv. Ellan Vannin":"With its green hills by the sea"

:"Let me hear the ocean murmur":"Let me watch your stormy sky":"Then above the emerald waters":"Sings the seagull as she flies"

:"Then arising like a vision":"Sparkling bright it shines for me":"My own dear _gv. Ellan Vannin":"With its green hills by the sea"

:"And in all my times of sorrow":"And on some lonely shore":"I'll go back to _gv. Ellan Vannin":"To my childhood days once more"

ee also

* Isle of Man
* Music of the Isle of Man

External links

* [http://www.isle-of-man.com/manxnotebook/fulltext/ms1896/p070.htm Manx Notebook - Music and Lyrics for Ellan Vannin] by Eliza Craven Green.
* [http://www.lkmusic.co.nz/EV.htm _gv. "Ellan Vannin"] the song by Larry Killip